We are delighted we have been able to consolidate and strengthen our role as the best known and most respected voice in international broadcasting

Mark Byford, director, BBC World Service

Audiences for the English language network also went up by up two million to a record 42 million.

The BBC said the increases were largely due to improved reception.

"We are delighted we have been able to consolidate and strengthen our role as the best known and most respected voice in international broadcasting," said BBC World Service director Mark Byford.

"It is a truly outstanding achievement, in a world of exploding competition, to increase our role as the world's reference point for news and information to millions of people around the globe."

Measuring global audience figures is notoriously difficult.

Survey methods vary and there is no research at all in countries such as Burma, Iran and Iraq.

But the BBC's estimates are based on regular independent surveys and incorporates data from 29 countries.

It includes data on people listening to World Service via short wave or via local broadcasting partners on MW and FM.

Over the last 10 years they show a regular rise in listening.

Transmitters

In Nigeria, the audience went up by 3.3 million.

In Kenya, where one in three adults listen each week, the rise was 1.5 million.

In Saudi Arabia the rise was 1.8 million, Egypt saw an increase of 0.2 million, in China it was 0.3 million and India it was 0.2 million.

Overall, there was a rise of 3 million listeners to BBC World Service on shortwave. The latest figure stands at 129 million.

The total number of listeners to BBC World Service programmes that have been rebroadcast has risen by 1 million to 37 million.

The listening figures follow a recent announcement of the doubling in the number of users to BBC World Service Online.

Deputy director Nigel Chapman said last week the site was recording 40 million page views a month.

The site includes both text and audio streaming of radio services in all languages

However, there are no figures currenty available for those listening to BBC World Service over the internet.

The increase is well above comparable internet growth rates.

The World Service is entirely funded by the UK Government, and its budget decreased in real terms for most of the 1990s.

But last year, BBC World Service was promised new funding of �64m over three years.

Some of the money is set aside for new shortwave transmitters in Cyprus and Singapore, and increasing FM transmissions in the world's capital cities.

The new money will also be used to increase the number of capital cities in which the service can be heard, from 112 now to 135 by 2003/4.